Philippines won't give up hope on missing official

MANILA (AFP) - Philippine rescuers stepped up the search for an influential Philippine politician on Monday, two days after he went missing in an airplane crash at sea.

Military helicopters were expanding the areas they were surveying while special divers arrived in the central island of Masbate to help locate the plane of Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo that crashed on Saturday.

President Benigno Aquino had spent the night on the central island of Masbate to monitor the search for Robredo who is both a key aide and a close personal friend.

However Transport Secretary Mar Roxas, who is also monitoring the search, conceded, "there has been no positive news".